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Cass and\xa0Bob interview a woman using the pseudonym \u201cZoe.\u201d She\u2019s not entirely out to her family as an atheist, plus in her late teens she was lured into an affair with a married pastor, 12 years her senior so she would prefer to remain anonymous.\xa0

Zoe\u2019s story is a hard one. Not only did she endure the difficult work of deconstructing her faith, and the animosity that that creates with family and friends, but her faith involved falling in love with her pastor, and the pain of that church branding her with the Scarlet Letter. Then, as an adult, she found a man that loved her unconditionally. They\u2019re happy, they have two children together, but her hardships were not entirely behind her. They endured a still-birth and a miscarriage in the process. Today she looks for beauty in our godless world through macro and conceptual photography and poetry which can find on her blog \u201cWords to a Silent God."\xa0

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After the conversation with\xa0 Zoe, and Bob and I offer our post-show commentary, I tack on a section where I interact with an article posted in Psychology Today back in 2011 by psychotherapist Ken Page titled, \u201cHow To Love Yourself First: The least-honored and most powerful path to self-love.\u201d Week after week, we talk with people who have not only done the difficult work of deconstructing their faith but invariably have had to discover how to love themselves after years, sometimes decades, of toxic religious self-debasement. Stories like Zoe\u2019s embody the colossal achievement of raising one\u2019s own chin to look one\u2019s self in the mirror and affirm who you are\u2026such that you can live out the remainder of your days looking people in the eye unashamed, unafraid, and free to bring your full human self\u2014flaws and all--into the room.\xa0 This article prescribes some ways we can say yes to what is.

We taped these conversations on September 25th, 2016. We hope to encourage people in the process of deconstructing their faith and help curb the loneliness that accompanies it. We think the world is a better place when more people live by sight, not by faith. Please subscribe to our podcast, give it 5 stars, and/or leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Our show is available on most podcast platforms.\xa0 Also, you can support us monetarily in two easy ways: you can pledge one dollar per episode through Patreon; that\u2019s www.patreon.com/eapodcast, or leave a lump-sum donation through PayPal at our website, www.everyonesagnostic.com. The smallest contribution is greatly appreciated. Our Indigogo fundraiser is here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ea-podcast-equipment-upgrade#/

Credits:
"Towering Mountain of Ignorance" intro by Hank Green https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3v3S82TuxU
Intro bumper "Never Know" by Jack Johnson
The segue music is\xa0"The Riddle" by Five for Fighting\xa0

Thanks for listening and be a yes-sayer to what is.

Zoe\u2019s blog site: https://wordstoasilentgod.wordpress.com/

National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Month October 15th:\xa0http://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-pregnancy-and-infant-loss-remembrance-day-october-15/

http://www.october15th.com/

To raise awareness regarding Clergy Abuse of Power & Clergy Sexual Abuse:\xa0http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/resources/learn-the-basics/ce-faqs

How To Love Yourself First: The least-honored--and most powerful path to self-love\xa0By Ken Page L.C.S.W. Posted May 21, 2011, Psychology Today

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